Popcorn Lung and Vaping is Fake News

Published on August 8, 2025

There have been no cases of e-cigarettes causing popcorn lung.

National Health Agencies in the UK and Canada Declare Popcorn Lung a Myth

The UK’s National Health Services “Vaping myths and the facts” page says:

“Fact: Vaping does not cause “popcorn lung”, the common name for a rare disease called bronchiolitis obliterans. The disease was found in a group of factory workers exposed to a chemical (diacetyl) used to flavour popcorn. Diacetyl is contained in cigarette smoke, but it is banned as an ingredient in UK-regulated nicotine vapes and e-liquids.”

Similarly, Health Canada’s “Risks of vaping” page states:

“Did you know? Vaping is not known to cause Popcorn lung. Bronchiolitis obliterans (also known as “Popcorn lung”), a chronic disease that damages the small airways in the lungs, has been linked to diacetyl exposure. Diacetyl is a flavouring chemical used to give butter-like and other flavours to food. While once common in vaping products, researchers at Health Canada have in recent years found diacetyl in only 2 samples out of more than 800 vaping liquids available in Canada. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of popcorn lung disease as a result of vaping in Canada.”

Cancer Research UK Confirms Popcorn Lung a Myth:

This article from the Reason Foundation further debunks the myth that vaping causes popcorn lung and explains how the myth started and why it remains.

Many years ago, a Harvard Study found the substance that causes popcorn lung – diacetyl – present in some e-cigarettes but at very low levels (9 micrograms per cartridge on average). As explained by the Reason Foundation, manufacturers stopped using diacetyl in the U.S. voluntarily many years ago.

Today’s Cigarettes Contain 750 Times the Amount of Diacetyl of Versions of E-Cigarettes; Yet No Popcorn Lung

However, today’s combustible cigarettes that are being sold today have been found to contain 336 micrograms of diacetyl in each cigarette.

“This means that a cartridge-per-day vaper would be exposed to just nine micrograms of diacetyl, while pack-per-day smokers are exposed to more than 6,700 micrograms of diacetyl every day—750 times more diacetyl exposure than vapers. Yet, a link between smoking and popcorn lung has yet to materialize.”